Page 32 of Beneath the Scars

The cold, dead serial killer is gone now, replaced by the obsessive personality of a stalker.

And then she shakes it off like her outburst never happened. "I thought you were different, Agent Scott. I wanted to trust you. I believed you and I were working together to rid the world of the filth that sullies it. But then you had to get your grubby paws all over Lillian."

She pulls the knife out of Jones before wiping the blade on her black slacks. "Now I'll have to get rid of you and this piece of shit on the table. He deserved everything he got for being so insensitive about breaking Lillian's heart and sharing your secret so easily. But you? You'rereallygoing to pay. For thinking you can touch what's mine."

At this point, I'm letting her talk, listening to her vitriol as I try to figure out my next move. The rope is finally loose enough to slip from my wrists, but I won't be able to run with my feet tied, and no matter what training I've received, I know I won't be much of a match.

"And when I'm done with the two of you, I'm going for my girl. She'll be coming with me. She might initially resist, but she'll see reason after a while. We're perfect for each other. It's fate that I found her. A woman with a past just as messed up as mine, one who will understand my hatred of men and their disgusting urges."

Jayne puts the blade down on a side table before slowly walking to her kitchen. She digs through the drawer before coming out with a giant meat cleaver.

Holy shit. She's completely deviating from her usual MO. She grabs some trash bags and heads back to the body on the coffee table, and I have to suppress the urge to vomit when she starts hacking at it, getting it into smaller pieces.

That's when I see it. Shadows underneath the front door.

Fucking hell. I hope it's back up and not Lily coming to see if we're fine. I don't know how long I was passed out for, but it was long enough for Jones to get his ass handed to him. Lily would have grown worried by now, and I can't see her just sitting in the coffee shop like a damsel waiting to be rescued for too long.

Another shadow passes by the door, and an overwhelming sense of relief rushes through me. There are at least two people there. It can't be Lily, then, because no cop or agent worth their salt would bring a civilian up into a possibly fraught hostage situation.

Jayne has filled two bags with random bits of body parts, and the two shadows come together at the front door. Jayne tries to shove Jones's huge torso into a third bag. I can tell from here it won't fit, but I don't mind that she's distracted as whoever is at the door gets ready to breach it.

The two shadows disappear, and I brace for the impact.

And then there's a massive bash against the front door before... fucking hell, Karl, of all people bashes through the front door.

He's holding a revolver in front of him, and his eyes scan the room before landing on Jayne as she hovers over the body, a shocked look on her face. If I weren't so fucking confused and pissed off, I'd laugh at her expression.

"Put down the fucking cleaver, Jayne." Karl barks at her as Lily rushes past him and into the room straight for me. As she starts working on the binding on my feet, I carefully push her fingers away so I can do it for her.

Her hands are shaking, and when she looks at me, I find her eyes filled with unshed tears and angst.

I want to pull her into my embrace and soothe her worries and fears, but I can't afford to lose focus right now, so I look back to Jayne after my feet are free. By the way, she's eyeing Karl's gun, I can tell she's calculating her chances.

"I wouldn't," I warn as I get up from the floor, taking Lily’s hand in mine so I can tuck her behind me. "I don't know Karl very well, but I do know he's terribly protective of our Lily here and probably wouldn't hesitate to shoot."

"Damn right I am," Karl chimes in before waving at Jayne with his gun again. "Now drop the fucking cleaver."

Jayne's eyes trail to the woman clutching the back of my shirt before her eyes lower to the ground, and she drops the large knife.

Lily pushes something into my hand, and now that Jayne is disarmed, I take the chance to look—a cell phone.

"You should probably call for backup now. I called the police, and even though theyprobablytook me seriously, they might move a little quicker if an FBI agent made the call, too.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lillian

WrappedupinByron'sarms is probably the best place to be after being kidnapped, frightened within an inch of your life, and having to rescue your boyfriend, lover-type person.

It took Byron forever to do what he needed to do at the scene, and after insisting he get checked out at the emergency room, we finally made it to the hotel.

I insisted on babying him a bit, so while he was showering, I ordered room service, along with special desserts and beers from a local brewery.

He came out of the shower looking much better than he had going in, and while I was getting cleaned up, our food and beer arrived.

After eating and enjoying some of the beers, which mellowed us out, we both fell into bed and passed out.

I mean, I'd love to tell you that instead, we fucked like bunnies, but adrenaline crash is a real thing, and after all the excitement of the day, I was amazed the two of us had managed to stay up for as long as we did.

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